[Magazine] The Biblical Archaeologist. Vol. 25. No 4

35 Pages·1962·4.05 MB·English

The
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Publishedb y
THE AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
(Jerusalem and Bagdad)
Drawer 93-A, Yale Station, New Haven, Conn.
VOL. XXV December,1 962 NO. 4
Fig. 1. An Aramaic orthostat from Damascus, found built into the wall of the Omayyad Mosque.
From Syria 26 (1949), plate VIII.
Contents
The Aramean Empire and its Relations with Israel, by Benjamin Mazar 98
................
Indices to Volumes XXI-XXV, prepared by Margaret L. Shafer .. ....................121
An Important Announcement about Subscriptions
....................................................131
98 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXV,
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Copyright by American Schools of Oriental Research 1962
The Aramean Empire and its Relations with Israel*
by
BENJAMIN MAZAR
Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
The Rise of Aram
Mutual relations between Aram and Israel in the course of many genera-
tions are vividly described in the Bible. These relations were not merely the
result of political contact through prolonged periods of time, in war and
peace, but in a great measure were also the product of related origins and lan-
guage, and of common traditions from time immemorial. This fact is amply
documented in Biblical sources, primarily in ancient patriarchal traditions
about Israelite and Aramean ancestors who roamed the extensive region be-
tween Naharaim and Canaan sustaining themselves mainly from smallstock
breeding, and in the genealogical lists which emphasize consanguinity and
common fate from patriarchald ays down to division and settlement in sepa-
rate and distant regions. An investigation of genealogies pertaining to Aram
preserved in Genesis shows, first of all, that the genealogies are not of one
piece and period; they reflect to some degree an historical development from
which the wandering Aramean tribes emerged as an important factor in the
political and economic life of the Near East. This development effected im-
portant changes in the relations between Aram and Israel and related ethnic
groups.
* We are delighted to present this informative study by Professor Mazar; it first appeared in 1961
in the volume The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah published in Hebrew by the Israel Exploration
Society. The translation has been made by Rabbi Ben-zion Gold of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Professor Mazar has agreed to let us remove some of the documentation of the original article,
since it refers to materials in the Hebrew language; those who need these references will be able
to use the original publication. The rather technical final section is preserved both to introduce
our readers to the technique of reconstructing a broken text and to explain the source and usage
of the term Syria.
1962, 4) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 99
The oldest genealogy is that of Nahor (Gen. 22:20-24), Abraham's
brother. This genealogy affords us a glimpse of an ancient historical tradition
about a cluster of nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes who had apparently
reached the zenith of their strength in the eighteenth century B.C. The area
of their expansion stretched from the political-religiousc enter of Haran, where
Nahor lived, to the valley of Lebanon (Tebah and Tahash) and to northern
Transjordan (Maacah).' In this list Aram is the son of Kemuel,2 one of
Nahor's sons; that is, Aram, the eponym of the Arameans, a younger branch
in the organization of the Nahor tribes, was the grandson of Nahor, just as
Jacob, the eponym of the Israelites,w as the grandson of Abraham, "the father
of many nations."
Another tradition, prevalent in Israel, bestows a position of high impor-
tance on Laban,3 the son of Bethuel and the father of Leah and Rachel. In
the genealogy of Gen. 22, Bethuel appears as Nahor's younger son and brother
of Kemuel the father of Aram (vs. 22), whereas in the cycle of stories about
Jacob and Laban, Laban is described as an Aramean who lives in Aram Na-
haraim or Padan Aram,4t hat is, in Haran (Gen. 27:43ff) and in the neigh-
boring town Nahor (Gen. 24:10).5 The Israelite folk tradition apparently
ascribed to Jacob's father-in-law Laban the position of eponym of the Ara-
mean tribes, who spread from their center into the land of the "people of the
East" (Bene Qedem) as far as eastern Transjordan, and there conspired
against Israel (Gen. 29:1).6 Surely the story in Gen. 31 deserves attention
here. This story tells about the covenant between Laban the Aramean and
Jacob at Mt. Gilead, where they fixed the boundaries of their territorialp os-
sessions;a s a witness thereof, they built a stone heap, set up a pillar, and called
on the names of their ancestral-gods,t he god of Nahor and the god of Abra-
ham (vss. 44ff).
The latest genealogical list is given in the "Table of Nations" (Gen.
10:22-23), where Aram, Asshur, Arpachshad, and others are counted with
Shem; Aram's firstborn is Uz, the eponym of the large tribe that appears in
1. On several of the geographical conclusions here see Zion 11 (1946), pp. Iff; 23-24 (1958-59),
pp. 118f; Eretz Israel III (1954), pp. 18ff. These references are all in Hebrew.
2. Kemuel is not found in extra-biblical sources, but is an ancient west Semitic name men-
tioned in the Bible as the name of the leader of the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 34:24).
3. On Laban as an epithet for the moon-god and his relation to Haran, the cultic center of the
moon-god Sin, see J. Lewy, Hebrew Union College Annual 18 (1944), p. 434, note 39, and
pp. 455f. It is noteworthy that Laban appears as a component in west Semitic names and as a
geographical name, for example in Mt. Lebanon.
4. On Padan Aram (= "Field of Aram"), see R. T. O'Callaghan, Arant Naharaim, Rome, 1948,
throughout.
5. The town Nahor, which is in the vicinity of Haran, is known as an important city already
from the Cappadocian tablets (19th cent. B.C.) and in particular from the Mari tablets (18th
cent). It is also mentioned in documents from the middle Assyrian empire (14th-12th cent.)
see W. F. Albright, BASOR 78 (1940), pp. 29f and From the Stone Age to Christianity,
1946, pp. 179f; J. R. Kupper, Les nomades en Mesopotamie (1957), pp. 8 ff.
6. In Genesis, Qedem is the name of the enormous area from the eastern borders of Palestine
to the vicinity of Haran, including the Syrian desert (Gen. 25:6). Balak, king of Moab,
called Balaam from Aram, from the mountains of Qedem (Num. 23:7), that is "from Pethor,
which is near the River (Euphrates) in the land of Amu" (Num. 22:5; see Albright, BASOR
118 (1950), p. 15), that is, Pethor of Aram--Naharaim (Deut. 23:5). As early as the Mid-
dle Kingdom, the Egyptians used this name; this we know mainly from the Sinuhe story.
100 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXV,
YA P1
SAAMr'AL * HAVATTA
CARC4EMS~r
lE-TH- ,
*
LEP(cid:127)
&A,
A A
TARTM4
(cid:127)4G
6to fAD(o1
* R
rv0MASORSEAP
MARIA
E Iom
ELATI
Fig. 2. Map of Palestine and Syria, locating many of the centers of Aramean activity.
1962, 4) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 101
the older genealogy of Gen. 22:21 as the firstborn of Nahor. The "Table of
Nations" evidently reflects the period of mighty expansion by the Arameans
and their settlement throughout the countries of the Fertile Crescent, which
began about the end of the second millennium B.C. Therefore, in this author's
time, Aram, the father of the Arameans, was considered to be the son of
Shem and the grandson of Noah, and not, as in the older genealogy, the
grandson of Nahor.
The cuneiform sources testify that the Arameans were but a relatively
late ethnic group among the west-Semitic nomadic tribes; they are designated
Akhlamu in Assyrian documents from the fourteenth century. Only towards
the end of the twelfth century are they mentioned explicitly in the com-
bination akhlami-'aramayaa s nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes. At that time
they spread through the Syrian desert7 and the border areas of Mesopotamia
and Syria. The Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser I (1114-1076) fought them
fiercely, mainly to weaken their pressure upon regions conquered by the
Assyrians and to wrest from them the control over lines of communication
to Syria and the Mediterranean shore.8 However, in the course of time the
Arameans not only gained enough strength to swallow up many west-Semitic
tribes, to gain control over vast regions in the Euphrates area and in north-
west Mesopotamia (Aram-Naharaim), and to break into southern and north-
ern Syria, but also to impose their authority on Babylonia. This process ini-
tiated far-reachingc hanges in the ethnic and political scene of the Near East.
Already in the second half of the eleventh century the Arameansh ad attained
great power in large areas on both sides of the Syrian desert and had even
succeeded in settling and taking possession of them, in adjusting to living
conditions in their adopted lands and in establishing ruling dynasties in the
conquered countries. Having gained control over caravan routes, the life
lines of the Near East, leading from Mesopotamia to Anatolia and Syria (in-
cluding the desert roads) and having gained a foothold in the large centers
and important stations for merchant caravans and nomadic tribes with their
enormous flocks, they secured for themselves a constantly growing position
of importance in international trade. In their expansion southwest, the Ara-
means clashed with the Israelites who already in preceding generations had
extended the borders of their settlement from its center in Palestine to the
7. Palmvra (Tadmor) certainly was an important center of wandering Arameans, mentioned in
the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser I as Tadmar. On Palmyra, see Dhorme, Revue Biblique 33
(1924), p. 106. Here we find an explanation for the mention of Palmyra as one of the cities
built by Solomon, that is Tadmor in the desert (I Kings 9:18, following the qere; II Chron.
D8:a4m), ascubse.c ause it served as the main station for the caravans from the banks of the Euphrates to
8. prMDNFIeptoeet o.aura s airtcn.p a te1pthdi1eEe, 2a2 afr6sfs:o.tiJ 5;ner o ri ugnthir tnanAah nate. S dl ot uiftID d os"urifttei ahpshse eo eSl n ifetrtemnV-o fSamuiIotmIgi m caiet nmi tv(hd1eeSi 9A,rs t4 ,ru A8adp)sm,iwse eyr sari VoniaaddenpnI et dp ur .ist (n h1tgt9ahr6 5tae5T 9d fe)fit,.tsAA h;it oarerna ma:mKm petenueperatpa.mu n"npm"A se3 r 0," 3Avs ieanreLga Sf rfemu.asS ip enneapt nn(nl?neod"m)ame ctehaandei-tlr eA isbr 'Rasmm .Ie eenaaA nn(T.1i Mna9gyB5e l3wsooo)wra,p samo taaPnmnmrop,iy mpis em.a dJf, ao 4tuh(0Vr-1ef n9fr, .a"5;l 7 2w)2, afooS.sff .
102 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXV,
distant regions in northern Transjordan. This clash produced bloody and
protractedw ars for domination and over boundary disputes; it also produced
mutual influence and intermarriage in times of peace. Concerning this
eventful period detailed information is preservedi n the Bible.
Israel and Aram from the Bible
In the eleventh century, the Arameans penetrated en masse the settled
countries of the Fertile Crescent, countries with a rich material and spiritual
culture, and an ancient royal tradition; gradually they widened their area of
settlement and control. It ought to be noted that during this time the great
empires suffered amazing decline. Already at the beginning of the twelfth cen-
tury, the Hittite empire was shattered into fragments. Its large districts in
Syria were inherited mainly by comparativelys mall Hittite kingdoms such as
Carchemish on the Euphrates and Hamath in middle Syria. The Egyptian
empire fell from its mighty position during the second third of the twelfth
century and ceased to be a weighty political factor in Canaan in the eleventh
century. Babylon fell prey to its neighbors and to the Aramean tribes, while
Assyria declined after Tiglath-pileser I and shrunk into narrow borders.A t the
same time, three west-Semitic nations, the Arameans, the Israelites, and the
Phoenicians, were rising. These nations attained a great measure of power at
the beginning of the first millennium.
As far back as the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the tenth
century we encounter an important Aramean kingdom in southern Syria,
Aram-Zobah,r uled by the dynasty of Beth-rehob. This kingdom established
a federation of Aramean and non-Aramean kingdoms in Syria and northern
Transjordan, thus controlling the roads leading to Mesopotamia (see II
Sam. 8:3, 10:16; I Chron. 19:10). The focal point of the Zobah kingdom,
which included in its boundaries also Mt. Senir (Anti-Lebanon), was prob-
ably in the northern part of the Lebanon valley; that is where we ought to
look for the three main cities of Hadadezer ben Rehob, the king of Aram-
Zobah, namely Tebah, Cun, and Berothai, which were conquered by David
in his decisive battle with Hadadezer.9T he region of Damascus was one of
the Aramean districts in the confederation under the leadership of Aram-
Zobah, whereas the kingdom of Maacah and the land of Tob in the northern
part of eastern Transjordanw ere, presumably,n ot Aramean as yet, but along
with the kingdom of Ammon, an ally of Hadadezer's,w ere among the satel-
lites. It is my opinion that in his wars with David, and especially in his great
military expedition to Transjordan which brought him as far as the valley of
Madeba (I Chron. 19:7), Hadadezer sought to gain control over the "King's
Highway" (see Num. 20: 17, 21:22), one of the essential caravan routes in
9. See A, Malamat, BA XXI (1958), pp. 82ff; M. F. Unger, Israel and the Arameans of Damas-
cus (1957), pp. 42ff. For the disputed explanation of Hamath-Zobah, see Lewy, op. cit., pp.
443ff.
1962, 4) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 103
internationalc ommerce,w hich led from Damascus along eastern Trans-
jordant o Elath and Arabia.I t is worthy of note that the kings of Aram-
Damascus'os ubsequentlyf ollowed the same policies. However,t hese ambi-
tions of Aram-Zobahw ere frustratedb y the young kingdomo f Israel.
David, who firmly establishedt he Israelitek ingshipf ounded by Saul,
and around it consolidated the Israelite tribes in a permanent and lasting
political-military and social regime, succeeded not only in conquering the
countries bordering Israel but also in subjugating the confederacy of Ara-
mean kings and their satellites up to the border of the Hittite kingdom Ha-
math, the adversaryo f Aram-ZobahH. amathe stablishedi ntimater elations
with David and apparentlya cknowledgedh is suzerainty( II Sam. 8:9-11,
.- NachFileuBnUdReGs THPOilRas tersu ndd o
"andbei"eidung NO
ANSICWtvon
"
Fig. 3. Drawing of the citadel gateway at Zenjirli, decorated with reliefs, such as those shown in
figure 5. From F. von Luschan, Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli, III (1902).
II Chron. 18:9-11) in southern Syria" and to the Euphrates in the northeast.
Control over the wide spaces from the River of Egypt up to Lebo in the
Lebanon Valley (Lebo'-Hamath), and over the main caravan routes to
Mesopotamia and Arabia, raised the young Israelite kingdom to the level of
one of the important states in the Near East. David's treaty with Toi, king of
Hamath, and with Hiram, king of Tyre (the Sidonian Kingdom), as well as
the friendly relations with the rulers of Arabia in the days of Solomon and the
development of trade relations with them (I King. 10:1-13,15), added much
10. One ought to mention Hazael's military expedition to Gilead and the conquest thereof up
to its southern border at the river Arnon (II Kings 10:33). It is not unlikely that he pro-
ceeded southward across Israel's border to Moab and Edom. This is borne out, indirectly, by
a list of tribute-payers to Adad-Nirari III after his expedition to Damascus in which Edom is
mentioned; D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia I (1926), ?739.
That Rezin reached Elath is explicitly stated: "and he drove the man of Judah from Elath" (II
Kings 16:6). After having conquered Damascus and incorporated it into their empire, the Assy-
rians continued the same policy. This accounts for the extreme importance of Damascus in
Syria and its strong ties with Arabia under the Assyrians and in later periods. See the survey
on trade with Arabia in Gus W. van Beek (BA XXIII, 1960, pp. 70ff) and W. F. Albright
(Eretz Israel V, 1958, English section, pp. 7*-9*).
11. See Mazar. Bulletin of the Israel Exploration Society XII (1946), pp. 96ff (Hebrew), and
Malamat, BA XXI (1958), p. 101.
104 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXV,
to Israel's political stature and economic power. According to a source pre-
served in II Chron. 8:3-6 Solomon even succeeded in strengthening and
broadening his control over Syria.
The districts under Israelite rule in the days of David and Solomon can
be divided into conquered countries in which David set up governors and
states subject to Israel whose rulers were in the position of satellites. About
Aram-Damascusw e are told: "then David put governors in Aram of Damas-
cus; and the Arameans became servants to David and brought tribute" (II
Sam. 8:6), whereas the story about the defeat of the armies of Aram-Zobah
and its satellites under the leadership of Shobach, Hadadezer's general, con-
cludes with the words: "and when all the kings who were servants of Hadad-
ezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel they made peace with Israel
and became subject to them" (II Sam. 10:19). Deserving particular atten-
tion is the fact that in dealing with the kingdom of Solomon, Israelite his-
toriographerse mphasize that "Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the
River (Euphrates) to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt"
(I Kings 5:1; II Chron. 9:26).
It seems that lale in Solomon's reign when his rule weakened and the
state was disintegrating internally and externally, the position of several con-
quered nations and particularlyt hat of the Arameans changed. In this period
of weakness, when Egypt's power waxed under the leadership of Shishak,
the founder of the twenty-second Dynasty, and a rebel movement was afoot
in Israel, Aram-Damascust ook advantage of the opportunity, threw off the
yoke of the house of David and built itself upon Israel's decline. The reign-
ing dynasty in Damascus, founded by Hezion,12 made Aram-Damascust he
most important Aramean state in Syria. Hezion's grandson Ben-Hadad I
initiated aggressive policies against Israel. It is possible that he founded the
coalition of Aramean states in Syria under the leadership of Aram-Damascus
which attained great power in the time of Ben-Hadad II. This king of
Damascus is mentioned in several interesting biblical historiographicals ourc-
es. According to I Kings 15:18-20, and II Chron. 16:2-4, Ben-Hadad availed
himself of the opportunity to interfere in a Judean-Israelited ispute and broke
through the line of fortified cities in Naphtali, from Ijon and Dan to Chin-
neroth. This war most certainly took place in the twenty-sixth year of Asa's
reign (886 B.C.; II Chron. 16:1 "the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa"
is an error) which was Baasha's13la st ruling year. It seems that one ought to
12. Some time ago, in Leshonenu 15 (1944), pp. 42f, I expressed the opinion that Hezion ought
to be taken as the proper name of the founder of the dynasty, and Rezon (cf. Prov. 14:28)
as his royal title. Some scholars assume that, after Rezon, Hezion was the founder of a new
dynasty in Damascus.
13. See H. Tadmor in the Hebrew Encyclopedia Biblica I, cols. 469f, against Albright (BASOR
100 (1945), p. 20). Albright accepts the Chronicler's date and proposes a new chronological
method differing from the one accepted by most scholars, even identifying Ben-Hadad of
Baasha's time with Ben-Hadad of Ahab's time.
1962, 4) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 105
Fig. 4. Stele dedicated to Melqart by Bir-Hadad, king of Aram, found in the vicinity of Aleppo.
From BASOR 87 (Oct.., 1942), p. 24.
attributet o the periodo f Israel'sd ecline after Baasha'sd eath the historical
informationin terpolatedin the genealogicall ist of Judah to the effect that
Geshura nd Aramt ook Havvothjaira s well as Kenatha nd its settlements-
"sixtyt owns"( I Chron. 2:23). EvidentlyA ram-Damascuasn d its satellite
106 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXV,
Geshur wrested Bashan from Israel - to be exact, from the district of Ra-
moth-Gileadfo undedb y Solomon( I Kings 4:13) - and joined it to their
states.14 Undoubtedly the pressure of Aram-Damascus on Israel did not
slackeni n the days of Omri. Accordingt o the testimonyo f I Kings 20:34,
Ben-HadadI I's fatherB en-HadadI took cities from Ahab'sf atherO mri and
establishedb azaarsi n Damascus.15H owever,t he assumptiont hat Birhadad,
the king of Aram,w ho dedicatedt o Melqartt he stele found in the vicinity
of Aleppo, is Ben-HadadI is problematicT. his assumptionw as based on
Albright's proposed restorationo f a break in the text, but this restoration is
not satisfactory.T he inscription seems to refer to Ben-Hadad II instead.16
Much informationa bout Ben-HadadA, hab'sc ontemporarya,p parently
Ben-HadadI I son of Ben-HadadI , has been preservedin the Bible. It stands
to reason that this Ben-Hadadi s none other than Adad-idri( Hadadezer)
king of Aram,k nown from the inscriptiono f ShalmaneserI II, king of As-
syria. It is even likely that Ben Hadad (Bir-Hadad) is not a personal name
but a title common to kings of Aram-Damascus;i t means "son of the god
Hadad" (Hadad-Rimmont,h e god of Damascus).17 Under Ben-HadadI I,
wrangling between Israel and Aram-Damascust urned into a protracted war
which put Israelt o a severet est. During the last yearso f Ahab'sr ule, when
the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were enjoying some measure of political
and economicp rosperityB, en-HadadI I put Israel under extremep ressure
in hopes of gaining control over the whole state. At that time Shalmaneser
III (859-829 B.C.) was alreadyc asting fear upon Syria xwithh is military
expeditionst o the regiono f Sam'al( 858) and his war with Beth-Eden( 857-
855) which resulted in the conquest of this important Aramean kingdom
in the Euphrates and Balikh regions and its annexation to Assyria. It is not
unlikely that Ben-Hadad's aggressive policy towards Israel and his attempt to
gain control over it were intended primarily to secure his rear by turning the
strong and flourishing kingdom of Israel into one of Aram Damascus' satel-
lites"I before the Assyrian king began his decisive battle for the conquest
of Syria.
14. See Journal of Biblical Literature LXXX (1961), p. 24.
15. I Kings 20:34; see G. Bostrim, Proverbiastudien (1935), pp. 91ff, referring to the extra
right given to the stronger ally to build business quarters for mercrcants in the large cities
and especially in the capital of the state.
16. The inscription was published by Dunand in Bulletin du Musde de Beyrouth 3 (1939), pp.
65ff. Albright wrote in BASOR 87 (1942), pp. 23ff. See also de Vaux in Bulletin du Mus'e
de Beyrouth 5 (1943), p. 9, note 1; J. Starcky apud Dupont-Sommer, Les inscriptions aranmden-
nes de Sefird (1958), p. 135, note 1.
17. Albright (BASOR 87 (1942), p. 28, note 16) is of the opinion that the kings of Damascus,
like the kings of Israel, took on an additional name upon coronation. The parallel expression
"the house of Hazael" and "the palaces of Ben-Hadad" in Amos 1:4 in my opinion
alludes to Hazael as the founder of a new Aramean dynasty which gives its name to the
kingdom of Damascus in the later Assyrian documents (the house of Hazael, like the house
of Omri as the name of Israel), and alludes to Ben-Hadad as the title of Aramean kings in gen-
eral. Also worthy of note is the parallel in Jer. 49:27: "and I will kindle a fire in the wall of
Damacus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad."
18. It stands to reason that the Egyptians supported these policies of Ben-Hadad. During the
battle at Qarqar, the Egyptian army lined up with Ben-Hadad.